The State leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), according to insiders, was hauled up for populating its list of probable candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections entirely with existing office-bearers here on Monday.
As a result, party sources conceded the BJP’s list of candidates to be fielded on Delhi’s seven parliamentary seats, which was initially scheduled to be released on Monday evening, will be delayed “at least till Tuesday” if not beyond.
Delhi BJP leaders, according to insiders, spent the better half of the day at the party’s national headquarters on DDU Marg “reworking” this list.
Gambhir’s entry
Sources claimed the party’s State leadership was at the receiving end of “negative comments” from the senior leadership for submitting a list that had “almost all the office-bearers” constituting its State unit as probable candidates.
The party’s high command was also “peeved” at the “negative reception” accorded to former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir who joined the party on March 22.
“If all the prominent leaders from the party’s State leadership want to contest the Lok Sabha elections, who will organise the party’s campaign in the city, the members from the State unit were asked,” said a senior party leader requesting not to be named.
“Senior leaders were also furious at the negativity with which the entry of Mr. Gambhir was being viewed by the Delhi unit on account of his being a celebrity and the party’s more or less final decision of fielding him from the New Delhi seat. This is unacceptable, the leaders of the Delhi unit were told,” the party leader further said.
According to sources, the senior party leadership then directed members constituting the Election Committee from the Delhi unit to “reassess” and “revise” the list of 21 possible candidates it submitted to the Central Election Committee for consideration.
Drop one name each
Instead of three candidates, including incumbent Members of Parliament from each of the seven constituencies, the Delhi leadership was asked to drop one name each and bring the total number of names for consideration to 14 or two each. This exercise, sources claimed, went on till late on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, the party was understood to have finalised the candidature of five sitting MPs from their respective seats and was likely to replace the two remaining ones.
“MPs are most likely to be repeated on the Chandni Chowk, North-East, East, South and West Delhi seats and new candidates are expected to be fielded from the New Delhi and North-West Delhi seats,” another party leader claimed.
